The scariest place in America

The Palace Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg, Fla., CNN reports, is not a good place to raise the family.

Nearly half of the 200 residents are registered sex offenders. The mobile home park, located in an obscure corner of the area, meets court requirements by being far away from schools, parks and libraries. No kids are allowed to live in the adults-only park.

The on-site manager, Nancy Morais, says she was sexually assaulted by a family member as a little girl, but offers the place up to help the community.

One-stop creeping

Some of the parks’ other members are understandably bent about this. But others aren’t. One told CNN she feels safe because “none of these men want to go back to jail. They will do anything to keep from going to jail.”

The cops are all over the place all of the time, too, as the residents of Palace Mobile Home Park fit the dictionary definition of “the usual suspects.”

Since Palace began accepting sex offenders, CNN reports, there’s been only one arrest — an offender tried to arrange a photo shoot with a kid, but was ratted out by another offender.

I think letting sexual predators congregate together is a good idea. Do you see a problem with this?

Ask me anything

I convened a focus group — a few guys I work with — and decided I needed to go “Web 2.0″ on you.

For those of you in the dark, Web 2.0 is a five-year-old term used to describe a Web site where users and readers do all of the work.

In that spirit, for example, I already asked a question about letting sexual predators congregate together. Pretty smooth, eh?

And I’d like you to send me your questions about anything. I will answer them in the blog. Here’s the email address: ask.at.large(at)gmail.com. Substitute (at) with an “@” and fire away.

If you don’t send questions, I will have to make them up and lie by claiming that someone sent them in. My integrity — already in question — is thus in your hands.

Elsewhere on MySA today

Judson ISD: Helotes Northeast

There are two locks in the world of school board politics: school board trustees are crazy and school board trustees like to fight. The current snafu in the Judson district — where one trustee is accusing others of being racist, causing them to storm out of a meeting — is a good example of both certainties. This district is like the city of Helotes, where nobody gets along with anyone else.

I’m not a fan of City Council, but they’ve been getting hammered every year for being chintzy with arts funding. That’s why it seems odd that arts organizations and city arts boards are freaking because the council approved a $315,000 contract to help the Museo Alameda del Smithsonian.

Bernie Anderson will be honored with inclusion in the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame for his pioneering work in BMX, a sport also known as “Bicycle Moto Cross.” That’s where people get paid to kill themselves on bicycles, which most of us tried to do for free as kids.

Federal agents with warrants searched through the illusionist’s Vegas facilities, where he researches, builds and perfects his on-stage performance. The feds aren’t saying much about the search, but sources indicate six cops were beheaded, four were sawed in half, and three had doves appear under their FBI caps as they escaped from a locked, water-filled chamber. And then, miraculously, everyone was okay!